BUSINESS FAILURES – AUSTRALIA

Retailers at risk as consumers tighten belts

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 25-Mar-19

Insolvency firm SV Partners has stated that 916 Australian retail outlets are at "high to severe risk of collapse" in the next 12 months. Its forecast is based on data from credit bureaus and providers. An online retailer with turnover of more than $1 billion is one of the businesses that are considered to be under threat. Deloitte Access Economics has stated that retail sales growth will fall to 1.6 per cent in 2019 as consumers curtail their spending; well-known retailers to have failed in recent months include Roger David and Shoes of Prey.

CORPORATES
SV PARTNERS PTY LTD, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, ROGER DAVID STORES PTY LTD, SHOES OF PREY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, ED HARRY MENSWEAR, NAPOLEON PERDIS COSMETICS PTY LTD, BEDS ‘R’ US PTY LTD

Gas prices send Remapak to the wall

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-Jan-19

Soaring gas prices have led to polystyrene coffee cup maker Remapak placing itself in administration. Remapak general manager Adam Hope noted that its gas costs had risen by around 400 per cent over the last three years, and that it was spending as much as $120,000 every fortnight on gas. The Sydney-based Remapak has been making foam products for over 40 years, with as many as 60 jobs at risk because of its collapse. Weston Energy MD Garbis Simonian says there will be more business collapses in the future if east coast gas prices are not pushed down to more affordable levels.

CORPORATES
REMAPAK PTY LTD, WESTON ENERGY, WORRELLS SOLVENCY AND FORENSIC ACCOUNTANTS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL

Unlockd falls to Google threat and enters administration

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 13-Jun-18

Australian advertising technology group Unlockd has been placed in the hands of administrators from insolvency firm McGrath Nicol. Unlockd has attributed its descent into voluntary administration to the actions of Google, which has sought to ban Unlockd’s app from its Play Store and AdMob platforms. Courts in Australia and the UK have ruled in favour of Unlockd in its legal dispute with Google, which has been accused of engaging in "anti-competitive" conduct.

CORPORATES
UNLOCKD PTY LTD, McGRATH NICOL AND PARTNERS SERVICES PTY LTD, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF ENGLAND AND WALES, MTV MUSIC TELEVISION, CITIBANK PTY LTD, CATCH-OF-THE-DAY.COM.AU

Aussie Farmers Direct wilts in tough market

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 6-Mar-18

Aussie Farmers Direct was placed into voluntary administration on 5 March, 13 years after it first began delivering fresh produce to people at home. It had 100 franchisees and 260 employees, and Craig Shephard of KordaMentha says the business will cease trading immediately. One part of the company, Home Delivery Services, is not affected by the collapse and will continue to trade. Aussie Farmers Direct had sales of $A137m in 2014-15, but it lost $A15.5m. Its failure has been attributed to competition from supermarkets and meal-kit providers.

CORPORATES
AUSSIE FARMERS DIRECT, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, SHAW INVESTMENTS, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CRESCENT POINT, PEPPERLEAF, YOUFOODZ, FIVEPOINTFOUR, TASTEBOX, YOUR GROCER, THOMAS FARM KITCHEN, DISH’D, GOURMET DINNER SERVICE

$100m lost in Plutus tax scam

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Original article by Geoff Winestock, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Jan-18

The liquidators of Plutus Payroll, the company at the centre of a tax fraud case, have released their first report to its creditors. Plutus Payroll and its associated companies have total debts of $A136 million. Based on how much Tim Norman of Deloitte Financial Advisory estimates will be recoverable from Plutus Payroll itself, it appears that the Australian Taxation Office may have to forgo around $A100 million. It is owed all but $A2 million of the debt.

CORPORATES
PLUTUS PAYROLL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, DELOITTE FINANCIAL ADVISORY, SYNEP, HARTFORD INVESTMENTS, KISMETS

Workers’ safety net tightened

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Original article by Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Oct-17

Employees of failed companies have been paid more than $A1bn in total from the Federal Government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme in the last five years. However, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has announced plans for reforms which will target directors of failed companies who attempt to avoid liability for employees’ redundancy entitlements. The reforms will not apply retrospectively to companies such as Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel, which collapsed owing some $A70m to its workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, QUEENSLAND NICKEL PTY LTD, PPB ADVISORY, WARATAH COAL INCORPORATED, CHINA FIRST PTY LTD, ANSETT AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, NATIONAL TEXTILES LIMITED

Ten creditors ‘left wholly in dark’ over rival offer

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 14-Sep-17

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has heard allegations that Ten Network administrator KordaMentha had not provided creditors with sufficient information about the value of a joint bid by Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon. Andrew Bell, QC told the court that Ten shareholders would receive more value from the joint bid than the offer from US-based CBS Corporation, which was endorsed by KordaMentha. He said that unlike the CBS offer, the Murdoch-Gordon bid would have treated all creditors equally.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Ten admins acted illegally, court told

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 & 26 : 13-Sep-17

The legality of KordaMentha’s decision to endorse CBS Corporation’s acquisition of Ten Network rather than the offer of Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon has been questioned in court. Lawyers acting for Gordon argued that it is up to Ten’s creditors and their advisers to assess the merits of competing bids and chose the best one, rather than the administrator. Meanwhile, KordaMentha has released a supplementary report to creditors in response to claims by Gordon that its first report lacked sufficient detail.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, CBS CORPORATION, BIRKETU PTY LTD, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, ONE NATION PARTY, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Murdoch-Gordon Ten bid details aired

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Sep-17

KordaMentha has released the deed of company arrangement for CBS Corporation’s proposed acquisition of the Ten Network. It is included in a supplementary report to Ten’s creditors, in which the administrator outlines the reasons for its decision to recommend selling Ten to CBS rather than rival bidders Bruce Gordon and Lachlan Murdoch. KordaMentha notes that both itself and Ten’s receivers had concluded that the CBS deal would provide a better outcome for creditors.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, CBS CORPORATION, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, BIRKETU PTY LTD, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED

Gordon takes round one in Ten legal bout

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 8-Sep-17

The Supreme Court of New South Wales has granted an application by WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon to have the second meeting of Ten Network creditors delayed by a week. This will allow the court to hear claims by Gordon, Lachlan Murdoch and 21st Century Fox that a creditors’ report by administrator KordaMentha lacked sufficient detail. This hearing is scheduled for 12 September, while the second meeting of creditors is now slated for 19 September. In other developments, the Australian Share­holders’ Association has ruled out participating in a class action regarding Ten’s collapse.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, CBS CORPORATION, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, BAKER AND McKENZIE, ATANASKOVIC HARTNELL CORPORATE SERVICES PTY LTD, ALLEN AND OVERY, DENTONS, CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD